Page 1 of Knot That Serious

1. Right On Time

Jack

Jack panted, lungs burning and feet pounding into the concrete as he ran. The pale buildings of the uppity district blurred into a beige haze as he raced down the sidewalk, dodging men in suits and women in… suits.

Ignoring the dirty glances following in his wake, he checked his watch and cursed, picking up his already frantic pace.

By the time he could see the bakery, pale pink and dark wood with greenery draped over the entrance, standing out amongst the plazas of bore, he was so late he didn’t bother slowing down. Almost there. He checked his watch again—fuck, just shy of an hour late, and—

Ran right into someone.

A smack of bodies, a blur of color, and a shouted curse later, he was staring up at the early morning sky as a guy in one of those suits glared down at him. In a dark green suit, he stood out amongst the sea of dull tan and black. Jack blinked up at him, and Suit Guy blinked back, his bright blue eyes shining down at him.

Another blink and he was holding a hand out. “That didn’t look pleasant. You okay, there?”

“You’re hot,” Jack said, and then scrunched his face up in horror. “Sorry. Must have broken my filter when I fell.”

When he opened his eyes, Suit Guy was trying to finish him off with the brightest smile he’d ever seen. “Well, I hope that’s the only thing you broke,” he announced, still holding his hand out. He wiggled his fingers, tidy nails winking in the light. They were polished green to match his suit.

Jack grabbed it, noted his soft, warm hand—attached to a very strong arm, apparently—as he was hefted to his feet. He was unprepared for the force of the pull, and stumbled into the guy’s chest.

God, he smelled good, too. Not fair.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just late, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Jack glanced over his shoulder, pink beckoning ominously. He took a step back and tossed a thumb in that general direction. “I actually have to—”

“No harm done,” Suit Guy said, waving his hand. “Glad you’re not hurt.”

“See ya,” Jack called out, and took off before he could do something stupid like ask for the alpha’s number.

He paused just short of the front windows of the bakery before collecting himself, running a hand through his chaotic hair before strolling beneath the greenery to the door and pulling it open. The bell announced his presence, but it didn’t have to.

Eli was very aware of his arrival, since she was leaning on the counter with both hands, glaring at the door.

Before he could get a word out, Eli huffed. “It’s fine. I’ve only been up since three this morning.”

Jack winced and stepped forward, sliding under the counter. “Eli, I’m so sorry, my alarm—”

“Save it, Jack,” she grumbled, pulling the apron over her head. “Thanks for gracing us with your presence.”

Oh shiiiit. He’d fucked up.

But Eli wasn’t in the headspace to listen or even think about accepting an apology at the moment. She was tired, obvious from the dark circles bruised beneath her eyes. Her usually sweeter-than-the-bakery scent was sour, frustration pouring off her in waves as she disappeared to the back to collect her things with a sigh.

Fuck.

Jack counted into the till and tried to think of the magic words he could string together to make it all better. She had a right to be upset, sure. This was half his business, and they split the hours as evenly as possible. The least he could do was fucking show up on time.

Maybe he’d get brownie points for cleaning the apartment yesterday evening.

Hmm. Brownies. His gaze trailed to the glass display, eying the frosted brownies stacked high. He could snag one, right? It wouldn’t be the end of the world. He hadn’t grabbed breakfast once he’d realized just how late he was for his shift. It was only fair, right?

The door to the kitchen slapped shut behind him, and Jack startled, pushing away the thoughts of decadent chocolate and spinning to face Eli, knowing his face looked just as guilty as he felt.

He hadn’t even come up with the perfect apology yet.

“Eli—” he began.

“I’ll see you at home,” she said, voice a little empty, and fuck, why did she have to sound so… so despondent? Sheesh, that was a big word, and Jack wasn’t even sure he’d used it right. But it sounded like it fit, so he went with it. Yeah, despondent. Sad. Disappointed.

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